Zotob authors jailed

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Sep 13, 2006

One year, two years for worm writing duo.

Courts in Morocco have convicted two men accused of having a hand in the creation and distribution of the 'Zotob' worm, which struck worldwide a little over a year ago.

Farid Essebar, a 19-year-old Russian-born student believed to have been involved with several other viruses, was sentenced to two years, while Achraf Bahloul, 22, received one year for his part in the outbreak. Another man was arrested in Turkey shortly after the outbreak.

'This is good news for all computer users,' said John Hawes, Technical Consultant at Virus Bulletin. 'This worm attacked and infected people worldwide, and the global response shows that the authorities are finally learning to take malware seriously, and to take effective action against those who create it.'

The Zotob worm, which took advantage of a flaw in Windows, gained a high profile when it hit several major media companies, including CNN and ABC.

Posted on 13 September 2006 by Virus Bulletin

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